NAIROBI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya secured a hard fought 1-0 win over Malawi in an international friendly match in Nairobi on Tuesday. It is coach Sebastian Migne's second win in as many attempts this month having edged out Ghana's Black Stars by a similar margin on Saturday in a Group F Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) qualifier.
It was a Francis Kahata goal after 77 minutes that made the difference to see Kenya claim the victory against the Malawi Flames, who also lost 3-0 last week in Casablanca, Morocco.
Kenya's top striker Michael Olunga, who plays in the J-League in Japan, failed to pass a medical having knocked his knee in the win over Ghana and was the only change from that successful side.
Migne called on Zambia based Jesse Were to take his place. Kenya started off well, but failed to penetrate the Malawian defence which restricted Kenya's attack to long shots.
Kenya had to wait until the 18th minute to create their first real effort at goal as Ismail Gonzalez set up Aboud Omar, who drew a save from the Malawi goalkeeper. Malawi responded six minutes later with a Mhango Gabadinho effort that failed to beat goalkeeper Patrick Matasi.
In the second half, Kahata was fast to react to Erick Ouma's cross to score the only goal of the match. "It is a positive result and we take credit for it. But there are still areas we need to sharpen when some other players join the team," Migne said.
Kenya will now wait for their home and away clash against Ethiopia in October. Kenya is tied for second with Sierra Leone in Group F with three points and a similar goal difference. Ghana is in first place while Ethiopia are bottom of the group.
